Video : Archive
An archived video should be as close as possible to its original form (i.e. minimal compression, format changes, etc.) and should be stored on some durable or secure (i.e. backed up) medium. File sizes will tend to be large so you may need to be selective as to what you wish to preserve (i.e. raw footage vs. finished video
To archive video we recommend using any of the following options. Its a good idea to have multiple backups.
Archive option #1: DVD
Publish your finished project to a DVD that is playable in any DVD player or computer.
Read: making a DVD
Archive option #2: Save as a full quality raw file (.mov, or .dv)
Saved on a data DVD or external hard drive, readable and editable on a computer.
First obtain the raw capture or edited file.
Tutorial: iMovie full quality .dv file
Tutorial: Final Cut Express full quality .mov file
Then save the raw file to a Data DVD (capacity up to 4.7GB on a single layer DVD, 8.54 on a dual layer DVD).
Tutorial: Saving to a data DVD
Larger raw files or project files can be saved to an external hard drive.
Tutorial: Saving to an external hard drive
Tutorial: Formatting an external device for Mac
Save to the DMS server: For some class related projects saving to the DMS server is a temporary archival solution to working on your project. Project files will be erased at the end of each semester. In order to get a class folder on our DMS server please contact firstname.lastname@example.org with a full class list (student names and e-mail).
Tutorial: Saving to the DMS server
If you wish to make a copy of a non copyright protected DVD at no loss of quality you can create a disc image. This will also save time in burning a DVD because all of the video files are already encoded into one single file. On a Mac use Disk Utility to create the disk image.
Tutorial: Creating a disk image file (.cdr)